28 criminals locked up in Nottingham courts in June
This month saw a jury return guilty verdicts on eight defendants in one of the longest running trials in British history. The victim, Michael Anton O’Connor, was not the intended target of an armed hit in Pitcairn Close, The Meadows, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
The plan was to take down a drugs kingpin – but five members of a hit squad ambushed the wrong man. Businessman Mr O’Connor was sent in unarmed to calm tensions in a drugs turf war.
He was stabbed by Michael Mingoes, a former privately educated schoolboy turned drug dealer from Manchester. Those convicted of Mr O’Connor’s murder received mandatory life sentences – with mimimum terms to serve, before parole, amounting to 268 years combined.
Those sentenced were:
- Benjamin Taylor, aged 38, of Monton Road, Eccles, Manchester, who sent a team of dealers from Manchester down to Nottingham to carry out the murder. He was jailed for 32 years
- Leonard Ward, aged 42, of Marwood Road, Carlton. He was the head of Meadows-based organised crime gang (OCG) that ordered the killing, and was jailed for 32 years
- Joseph Boscombe, aged 41, of Rostherne Avenue, Manchester. He was part of the ‘hit team’ sent to carry out the murder and was jailed for 32 years
- Joshua Agboola, aged 30, of Leven Grove, Darwen, Blackburn. He was also part of the ‘hit team’ sent to carry out the murder and was jailed for 31 years
- Carla McGuire, aged 53, of Wilford Crescent West, The Meadows was linked to the Meadows-based organised crime group that ordered the killing. She lived next to where Mr O’Connor was murdered and was accused of turning off CCTV at her property just before the attack was carried out. She was jailed for 20 years
- Michael Mingoes, aged 21, of Powell Street, Manchester, was part of the ‘hit team’ sent to carry out the murder and is believed to have dealt the fatal blow. He was jailed for 28 years
- Jerome Sheard, aged 31, of Wilford Crescent West, The Meadows. He was Leonard Ward’s right-hand man, the son of Carla McGuire, and a member of the gang that ordered the killing. He was jailed for 31 years
- Paula Usherwood, aged 39, of Central Avenue, Beeston. He set up the ambush by meeting the intended target on the morning of the murder. She was jailed for 30 years
- Michael McGuire, aged 35, of Wilford Crescent West, The Meadows. He is the son of Carla McGuire and living with her at property next to where murder took place. He was jailed for 32 years.
Other offenders jailed in June
Firearms officers arrested 36-year-old George Vulcan after they were called to the incident at a house in Melrose Street, Sherwood[2], on January 6. A BB gun was found hidden behind a wooden boiler cover following his arrest.
Firearms officers quickly arrested 36-year-old George Vulcan after they were called to the incident at a house in Melrose Street, Sherwood on January 6 (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Vulcan, of Melrose Street, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm.
He was jailed for three years and handed a 10-year restraining order when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, June 27. Read the full story here[3]
Dealer threw heroin on drive
Drug dealer Tyriec Wilson, 22, wore just his dressing gown when he chucked a backpack full of heroin over a fence as he tried to escape police[4]. He attempted to run away after officers found him in the back garden of a house in Corby Road, St Ann’s,[5] during a raid on October 8, 2020.
Tyriec Wilson, 22, attempted to run away after officers found him in the back garden of a house on Corby Road, St Ann’s, during a raid on October 8, 2020 (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Wilson, of HMP Nottingham, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for seven years and six months. Read the full story here[6]
Sawn-off shotgun found
A sawn-off shotgun was found by officers whilst searching a flat belonging to Andre James on Burford Road, Forest Fields[7], on May 7, 2023.
Andre James (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
After pleading guilty to possessing a shotgun when prohibited for life and possessing a shortened shotgun, 40-year-old James was jailed for three years. Read the full story here[8]
Thug attacked woman
Defendant Paul Shepherd, 36, of Howard Road, Mansfield[9], suddenly flew into a rage and attacked[10] a woman in Hucknall. The woman eventually managed to break free from the 36-year-old’s grasp and escape the house with swelling and bruising to her face.
Paul Shepherd was inside a house in Hucknall with the woman when he suddenly flew into a rage and attacked her on March 30. (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Shepherd pleaded guilty intentional strangulation, intentional suffocation and assault, causing actual bodily harm. He was jailed for three years and three months, and given a 10-year restraining order banning him from contacting the woman. Read the full story here[11]
Wanted man was found asleep
Theft suspect Robert Ord, 50, of Church Walk, Worksop[12], was found in Nottingham city centre with a quantity of Class B drugs. He was charged with four counts of theft and possession of a class B drug.
Robert Ord (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
After pleading guilty to all five charges, Ord was jailed for 12 weeks at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court. Read the full story here[13]
Banned shoplifter stole from store
Prolific shoplifter Andrew Wimbledon, 41, breached his criminal behaviour order just hours after it was imposed. He was issued with the two-year order at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court[14] on June, 1 2023, after pleading guilty to a string of thefts from shops in West Bridgford[15].
Andrew Wimbeldon, 41, of Gordon Road, West Bridgford (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Wimbeldon has now pleaded guilty to another theft and to breaching his order. He was jailed for a total of five months when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on June 7, 2023. Read the full story here[16]
Drug dealer jailed
Drug dealer Dominic Hammond was caught with cocaine in his van after his bad driving attracted the attention of the police[17]. Officers were driving on the A614 from Ollerton when they spotted a damaged vehicle in front of them drifting all over the road.
Dominic Hammond, 30, jailed for two years and three months (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Hammond, 30, of Breck Bank, Ollerton, was behind the wheel of the van and – and had quantities of cocaine on the van’s dashboard, along with a large amount of cash in his pocket.
Hammond pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and was sentenced to two years and three months in prison. Read the full story here[18]
Are you a true Nottinghamian? Test your knowledge[19]
Sex offender confessed to years of abuse
Sex offender John Morrell, 73, called police to confess to years of abuse, just minutes after he denied offences against two young girls during a formal interview. Morrell, of Milner Street, Newark, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and three counts of making an indecent image of a child.
John Morrell (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
At Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, June 6, he was jailed for eight years, and added to the sex offenders’ register for life. Read the full story here[20]
Notts dealer hid wraps of cocaine
Drug dealer Sanyar Bakhshudeh, 21, formerly of Kettleband Close, Bingham[21], was hiding wraps of cocaine behind a dashboard panel in his car, police[22] said. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a Class A drug and being concerned in the supply of cannabis between October 6 and October 10, in 2020.
He also admitted to breaching a suspended sentence order, and was jailed for a total of four years and one month. He appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on Monday, June 6, along with another drug dealer – 23-year-old Amman Din Mohammed.
Sanyar Bakhshudeh, 21 (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Mohammed, formerly of Dennis Avenue, Beeston, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis between October 6 and October 10 in 2020, according to police. He also admitted possession with intent to supply MDMA, a Class A drug, on October 9, in 2020.
Amman Din Mohammed, 23 (Image: Nottingahmshire Police)
He was locked up for a total of three years and four months. Read the full story here[23]
Man drove into the path of oncoming vehicles
Runaway driver Steven Thorpe, 35, drove directly into the path of oncoming vehicles during a police[24] pursuit. Thorpe, of Willow Avenue, Carlton[25] in Lindrick, later admitted to dangerous driving[26], according to Nottinghamshire Police.
Steven Thorpe, aged 35, was instructed to stop by police on the A1 near Bawtry (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
He also admitted to an unrelated assault, where he repeatedly punched a restaurant worker. Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, June 2, Thorpe was jailed or a total of two years, and disqualified from driving for two-and-a-half years. Read the full story here[27]
Man stabbed woman in the shoulder
Violent criminal Cameron Wilson, 20, barged into a house and stabbed a woman in the shoulder in Mansfield[28]. Four days later, Wilson smashed the windscreen of a car with an axe after an altercation with another man outside a garage in Clipstone Road West, Forest Town.
Cameron Wilson, 20 of Muskham Court, Mansfield (Image: Nottinghamshire police)
Wilson, of Muskham Court, Mansfield, was sentenced to a total of two-and-a-half years in a young offenders’ institution when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on June 2. He pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent, possession of a knife in a public place, affray and criminal damage. Read the full story here[29]
Criminals in failed cash-in-transit robbery
Defendants Gheorghita Ciucur, 35, and Marius Oana, 27, lay in wait for a security delivery driver to return to his transit van before trying to wrestle the money from his hands. The bungling would-be robbers had been driven to the BP petrol station, in Mansfield[30] Road, Woodthorpe, by 25-year-old Gymi Virtan.
L-R: Gheorghita Ciucur, Marius Oana and Gymi Virta (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Ciucur, Oana, and Virtan pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and were sentenced on Monday, June 5. Ciucur, formerly of Cole Hall Lane, Birmingham, was jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Oana and Virtan, both formerly of Shenstone Road, Soho, Birmingham, were locked up for three years. Read the full story here[31]
Brothers who murdered pensioner
Police released images of two Nottinghamshire[32] brothers who shattered[33] a pensioner’s skull and left him to die. Matthew Row, aged 25, of Franklin Road, Jacksdale, and Luke Roe, 34, of Potter Street, Worksop, killed 85-year-old Henry Thwaites, who was friends with their mother, after getting him to drive them to a remote location on July 23, 2022.
Nottingham Crown Court heard they murdered him in Lime Tree Avenue, Worksop[34], after learning he had inherited £34,000. They also believed he had sexually abused someone they knew.
They were convicted of murder on May 26 following a nine-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
Matthew was also found guilty of four counts of fraud by false representation in relation to Mr Thwaites’s bank card, while the jury found Luke guilty of one count of fraud by false representation. Luke was also found guilty of criminal damage after damaging a car windscreen using an unopened beer can.
Matthew and Luke Roe (R) killed 85-year-old Henry Thwaites, who was friends with their mother, after getting him to drive them to a remote location
The two brothers appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on June 5 and both were handed life sentences. Luke Roe was told he will serve a minimum of 25 years in prison, while his younger brother Matthew will serve a minimum of 24 years.
Matthew Roe’s partner was jailed for two years on Tuesday, June 13. Abby Dixon, 28, of Watson Road, Worksop, was found guilty of two charges of assisting an offender by a jury after the murder. Read the full story here[35][36]
Arsonist set fire to family’s door
Arsonist Joseph Slack, 41, set fire[37] to the front door of a house in Beeston when a man, a woman and three children were inside.
Joseph Slack (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Slack, of Abbey Court, Beeston, previously pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to endanger life. He was jailed for three years and nine months when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on June 9. Read the full story here[38]
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